Multiple refrigerator system



T. POTTER IULTIPLE REFRIGERATOR SYSTEM 3 Sheets-Sheet l 118 1 A ril 1'r. 19 29 POTTER- MULTIPLE REFRIQERATOR- SYSTEM Dec. 23, 1930.

a sheets-sheet 2 Filed Apfil 17. 1929 I )rrcwwve/ 1 Dec. 23, 1930. T. l. POTTER MULTIPLE REFRIGERATORSYS'IIEI Filed April 17. 1929 3 Shoots-Sheet; sf -1 jrrb/i/ma Patented Dec. 2 3, 1930 UNITED STATES THOMAS I. POTTER, OF PORTLAND, OREGON MULTIPLE REFRIGERATOR SYSTEM Application filed April 17,

This invention relates generally to the art of mechanical refrigeration, and particularly to the pumping of heat from separated points to a central station.

The main object of this invention is to provide a refrigerating apparatus whereby it will be possible to provide refrigeration at a plurality of separated points by means of a single heat pumping unit to satisfy conditions met in apartment houses, ice

cream parlors and other locations wherein it is desirable to provide refrigeration at a number of more or less remote points, without the necessity of duplicating the pumping elements, or danger of unbalancing the system.

The second object is to construct a special form of condenser and compressor especially adapted to provide refrigeration at a plurality of points.

These, and other objects, will become more apparent from the specification following as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which: I

Figure 1 is a sideelevation ofthe device showing its connections to four separate refrigerating boxes". Figure 2 is plan of the heat pumping unit, also including the motor and condenser. Figure 3'is a section taken along the line 33 in Figure 1; Figure 4- is a section taken along the line 1-4 in Figure 1. Figure 5 is a perspective view of the apparatus showing a portion of the c'ompressor broken away to disclose one of its pumping units.

Similar numbers of reference refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

Referring in detail to the drawings, there is illustrated a compressor 10 having a plurality of cylinders 11 and pistons 12 normally wholly or partially submerged in the lubricant 13 confined within the crank case 14 of the compressor 10. The crank shaft 15 of the compressor 10 also carries a fan 16.

with an expansion coil 18 around an evap orator box 19. Cooled liquefied gas is sup- T he low pressure side of the compressor 10 1929. Serial No. 355,776.

plied to the coils 18 from a common supply pipe 20, under the control of the needle valves 21. The pipe 20 draws the cooled refrigerant from the condenser 22, which consists preferably of a plurality of vertical sections similar to an ordinary steam or hot water radiator, in which the lower portion forms a reservoir and collecting chamber for the lubricant 13 which may have passed over with the refrigerant.

' The pipe 20, which connects with the top of one of the sections 23 of the condenser 22, draws the cooled liquefied gas or refrigerant 24 from off the top of the lubricant 13.- It will be noted that the section 23 is separated from the section 25 by a plug 26 which actually converts the section 23 into a settling chamber for the remainder of the condenser 22.

Warm compressed gas or refrigerant is returned by the compressor 10 through the pipe 27' into the top of one of the sections 25, under the control of the valve 27 A, and becomes liquefied and is separated by gravity with the heavierlubricant going to the bottom and findingits way back to the crank case 14 through the ,equalizing pipe 28, which is provided with a control valve 29.

A gas equalizing pipe 27B provided with a control valve 27C connects the upper portion of the crankcase 10 with the upper portion of the condenser 22.

It will be noted in Figure 4 that there are a plurality of suction pipes 17 through which evaporated gases are delivered to the separate passageways 17A to their respective cylinders 11, fromwhence they are delivered as warm compressed gas through the port 30 through the pipe 27 to the condensing unit, which completes the cycle of operation.

Now it will be noted that although a multiple cylinder compressor is employed that each of its cylinders has a separate suction line and all have a common delivery line, and

that the suction lines lead to separate evaporating boxes for the purpose above mentioned The amount of refrigeration taking place at each box is controlled by its respective valve 21 independently of what is taking place at any of the'other units. 1 10 In existing systems wherein the various evaporator units deliver their heat to a common pumping line, the various units are undesirably controlled by the actions taking place at the remainder of the units.

In this instance there is really a number of single cylinder compressors being driven from a common crank shaft, each cylinder taking care of an individual evaporator box, and a common condenser being used to remove the heat from the evaporated gases.

Obviously, the same compressor might be grouped into a smaller number of pumping units having several cylinders to each unit.

For example, instead of having four evaporating boxes each of which is connected to a single cylinder, we might have two evaporating boxes each of which is connected to two cylinders, etc., without departing from the spirit of this invention. v

It is understood that when the compressor is operating it will pump heat from each of the expansion units in proportion to the amount that its control valve is opened independently of the demands made by any of the other units.

The amount of work performed at any par ticular cylinder is relatively small when compared with the inertia of the moving parts, and under the worst possible conditions is in sufiicient to noticeably unbalance the compressor.

It is, of course, obviously advantageous to carry a relatively high pressure in the crank case as compared with carrying low pressures therein, as is the common practice, and this advantage is made possible due to the rela-v tion of the parts as above described.

I am aware that refrigerating systems have long been constructed wherein refrigeration was su plied to remote points under the control of float valves and other contrivances, which were more or less dependent upon relative conditions existing at the various expansion units; I therefore do not claim such devices broadly, but I do intend to cover all such forms and modifications thereof as fall fairly within the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a refrigerating system the combination of a compressor comprising a plurality of pumping units, a condensing unit, a separating unit having an oil reservoir in the bottom thereof, an oil level balancing pipe connecting the bottom of said oil reservoir with the oil well of said compressor, a gas pressure balancing pipe between the upper portions of said compressor and condenser, a delivery pipe for warm compressed gas connecting the discharge side of all of said pumping units with the upper portion of the condenser, an expansion coil, a pipe for liquefied gas connecting said condenser with said expansion coil, a control valve interposed between said compressed gas pipe and the expansion coil,

an evaporated gas pipe connecting the opposite end of said expansion coil to a separate pumping unit of said compressor, and means for dissipating heat from said condenser.

2. A refrigeratin system for pumping heat from separate points consisting of a compressor comprising a plurality of pumping units, all of said units having one common discharge line for warm compressed gas, a separate suction line for warm evaporated gas, a condenser having a separating column associated therewith, an oil level balancing pipe between said compressor and separating column, a gas. pressure balancing pipe between said compressor and condenser, a pipe for delivering warm compressed gas from the discharge side of all of said pumping units to said condenser, a plurality of separate expansion coils, a valve-controlled pipe for supplying cooled liquefied gas from said condenser to each of said expansion coils, said suction line comprising a pipe connected with each of said expansion coils for returning warm evaporated gas to its respective pumping unit.

THOMAS I. POTTER. 

